Rating: 
Summary: Power, politics, passion and conflict! A work of pure art!
Review: This 1968 film is packed with intense drama, conflict, intrigue and passion. It was formerly a play by James Goodman, who adapted it to the screen, with every bit of its ruthless intrigue in the court of King Henry II in 1183 intact, enhanced by some excellent cinematography depicting what life must have been like in a world where the King was all powerful. Anthony Harvey did a masterful job of directing, and I was captivated by the way he brought this intense rendering of the power, politics and conflicting wills to the screen.Peter O'Toole stars as the 50-year old Henry, who is in the process of selecting one of his three sons to inherit his throne. Will it be John, his young favorite, played by Negel Terry, only sixteen years old and not very bright? Or will it be Richard, played by a youthful Anthony Hopkins, the oldest and most despised because his mother favors him? Or will it be Geoffrey, played by John Castle, the schemer. This is not a simple decision, of course. Everybody hates each other with venom rarely depicted on screen or in life. And perhaps the most venomous of all is Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, a role that won Katherine Hepburn, then 60, an Academy Award. There is such animosity between her and the King that she has been imprisoned in a tower for the past ten years and is only allowed out for Christmas and state occasions. It's Christmas now and the family is gathered in one of the King's many castles. Henry flaunts his young mistress, played by Jane Morrow, who is the sister of the King of France, played by Timothy Dalton. Everybody loathes each other and the intrigue is ruthless and constant. This is all shown though dialogue - dialogue so well written that I found myself cringing at the cruel insults and betrayals. All we see is hatred and more hatred. And yet, in one of her greatest roles, Katherine Hepburn's role shines. Underneath it all, there is love. I can't possibly imagine any other actress in the role. As the film unfolded I felt I was in the presence of genius. It's a work of pure art. Every line has meaning. Every gesture, every glance and every action went well below the surface of the words. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen, not only because of the great performances, but also because of the many twists and turns of the plot. Clearly, this is one of the most perfect films I have ever seen. I give it my highest recommendation. Not to be missed.
Rating: 
Summary: The Roaring Lion
Review: 1968's The Lion In Winter is a beautifully acted adaptation of the hit Broadway play. Peter O'Toole and Katherine Hepburn light up the screen as the constantly verbally sparring Henry II, King of England and his Queen, Eleanor of Acquitaine. It is Christmas Eve and Henry has brought the exiled Eleanor back to discuss which one of their three sons will become heir to his throne. There are traitorous plots against him by all three sons vying for the throne, but in the end it is Henry who proves to be the most cunning and underhanded of them all. Mr. O'Toole and Ms. Hepburn are simply tremendous together and their verbally interplay is sharp, incisive, hurtfully, darkly humorous and backed by a strength of character. The supporting players include the film debuts by two, at the time, very young actors, Anthony Hopkins as Prince Richard and Timothy Dalton as Philip II of France. Ms. Hepburn won her third Best Actress Oscar (and became the only the second actress after Louise Rainer to win consecutive Best Actress Awards after her in win in 1967 for Guess Who's Coming To Dinner) when she became part of the only acting tie in Academy history as she shared the award with Barbara Streisand.
Rating:
Summary: Royals devouring each other at Christmas. Yummy!
Review: "The Lion in Winter" represents the most literate form of guilty pleasure--the spectacle of the rich and powerful tearing each other apart, but with dialogue so rich, sparkling and epigrammatic that you can take pride in your elevated tastes. In this case, the misbehaving aristocrats are King Henry II, his estranged wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their sons (including the future Richard the Lion-Hearted and the future King John, he whose misrule inspired both the Magna Charta and the legend of Robin Hood). These despicable family members envelop each other during Christmas 1183 with an ever-spiraling thicket of plots and conspiracies, most of which are intended to culminate with a dagger in somebody's back. You sometimes need a scorecard to decipher just who is plotting against whom at any given moment--alliances are fleeting among the Plantagenets--but the dialogue, delivered by a superb cast, is the real point of "The Lion in Winter." Nobody in the world ever really talked like this, but isn't it wonderful that characters in plays and movies do? The performances--headed by Peter O'Toole as Henry and Katharine Hepburn as Eleanor, and with Anthony Hopkins making his movie debut as Richard--are as riveting as any ever set before a camera.
Rating:
Summary: A period pageant, only electified by Peter and Kate.
Review: It has a fairly young Peter O'Toole stepping *up* in age (most actors have to step down in age to fit a role) to play a king of 50 most marvelously; and it has a 60-ish Katharine Hepburn in probably her greatest role and the role which best fits her affected and high-tone style of speak. And the story and script (swathed in family dysfunction) is courtesy of James Goldman- and is stunning indeed. Though the royal heads are married, they compete for everything, and are at constant verbal odds regarding the successor to the throne and the spoils that come with it. Henry has a favorite son; Eleanor has a different favorite son. Problem is, there are *three* sons, a mistress, an adoring public, and a visiting king of France- all crashing together during the warm, fuzzy, Christmas holiday. The film's medieval detail is marvelous (shooting was in Ireland, Wales, and France), but the witty, literate, scenes with O'Toole and Hepburn alone are worth the price of admission ("Give me a little peace." "Why be so modest? How about *eternal* peace- now there's a thought"). As a result, it paces more like stage theater than film- and the action (for those who need that for entertainment) is minimal. But Anthony Harvey directs marvelous, Oscar-nominated performances, and can be heard analyzing such on the DVD's special material.
Rating:
Summary: Oh Well, What family doesn't have its ups and downs?
Review: Possibly the best written, most enjoyable, and well acted drama ever filmed. It's hard to believe this was produced by the same species that made 'Waterworld', 'Orca', 'The Swarm' or any soap opera that has blighted your daytime TV. One of the reasons the drama packs such a wallop is the brilliant humor that serves as a counterpoint to all the evil machinations of the most dysfunctional royal family imaginable. Virtually every scene is a masterpiece of biting wit and macabre intrigue. It is the contradictions that make the larger than life characters so thoroughly human and believable. Goldman's play captures the love between Henry and Eleanor wonderfully, even when they're trying to outfox and destroy each other. Yep, this IS a marriage! Not one actor in a million could pull this off. Fortunately for us, that's who gets cast in the leads: Peter O'Toole as Henry, Katherine Hepburn as Eleanor and the future Hannibal Lecter, King Arthur and James Bond as, respectively, Richard the Lion Hearted, Prince John and King Phillip of France. Treat yourselves to the twelfth century! It might remind you of home . . .
Rating: 
Summary: Whew!
Review: You think the Sopranos are a tough family? Shoot, they have nothing on this royal bunch! They make the Sopranos look like the Bradys. All the scheming, treachery and the putdowns would make Tony wince. I was struck by the young Anthony Hopkins's resemblance to Russell Crowe, and by the young Timothy Dalton's resemblance to James Bond.
Rating:
Summary: The Royalty of all Dysfunctional Families
Review: The Story: Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine are married, although he keeps her locked in a tower most of the time for having tried once to overthrow him. But, it's Christmas, so the whole family gets together to figure who should be the next King of England. The candidates: the oldest son, Richard (later known as The Lionhearted), who likes kill as many people as possible in battle, when he's not busy having an affair with Prince Philip of France; Geoffrey, the calm, brilliant, but totally ignored middle son, who forces people to notice him by betraying them; and John, the youngest son and Henry's favorite, who just happens to trip over everything and not be able to add two and two. Henry seems oblivious of his youngest son's shortcomings, and equally oblivious that he has a middle son, who could be the best of the three if he wasn't overwhelmed with jealous spite. Of course, Henry is awful busy flaunting his young mistress in front of his wife, and trying to figure out whether he shouldn't just kill his entire family and start over with the mistress as his new queen. Commentary: Wow! These actors are having a field day with this wonderfully over-the-top script. Peter O'Toole is an absurdly arrogant and dramatic Henry II, Kathryn Hepburn is the brilliantly frigid Eleanor, and Anthony Hopkins makes his feature film debut as Richard The Kittenhearted. Hold on to your seats and get ready for a roller coaster ride through Royal Dysfunctional Land!
Rating:
Summary: superb!
Review: The conversatons between this ultimate dysfunctional family is beyond compare. The best movie ever made (in my humble opinion) Worth every second!
Rating:
Summary: A tour-de-force
Review: Peter O'Toole is King Henry II and Katherine Hepburn is Eleanor of Aquitaine, his wife who spends most of her days in prison. They are a passionate couple whose love for each other is surpassed only by their ambition for power, which leads to a very complicated relationship indeed. This is a very talky film, but when the screenplay (by James Goldman) is as well-written as this, that becomes a compliment rather than a criticism. This is truly an actor's movie and there are towering performances throughout, including Anthony Hopkin's first screen performance. The look of the film is great, too--gritty and primitive, with dogs and chickens roaming the grounds and dark, moody stonework everywhere.
Rating:
Summary: How about EVERLASTING Peace?
Review: This is probably the best script ever written from a dialogue standpoint. I don't understand how tha 'Toole got passed over for the Oscar. Hepburn does her thing (which of course means being the best actress the world) and the overall casting is brilliant. The action scenes are pretty lame, but I doubt that anyone really cares. This film is very historically accurate and sort of makes you wonder why anything like Gladiator would ever get made much less win Oscars. Another good take on dysfunctional families is "The House of Yes" which has nearly as good dialogue and solid performances. Also check out "Happiness" by Todd Solenz if you can stomach it. I'm not sure how much of the original play made it into the screenplay, but the final product is genious to a level that I can't even comprehend.
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